Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of the Christian faith. He was bornin Bethlehem in what was then called Judea. No one knows the exact date ofthe birth of Christ, but he was born some 2000 years ago. The principalsources of information concerning Jesus’ life are the Gospels as read inthe Bible. According to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, Jesus wasmiraculously conceived by his mother, Mary.
He was born in Bethlehem,where Mary and Joseph had gone to comply with the Roman order to report fora census count. Jesus was born during the reign of the wicked King Herod. Reaction to the birth of Christ was mixed. The Magi or the three wise mencame to worship him, but King Herald tried to kill him. From His very birth Christ was recognized as King.
Wise menbrought Him gifts. Shepherds worshipped Him. Angels, knowing that He wastruly King, announced his arrival. And Herold, realizing that there isnever room for two thrones in one kingdom sought Jesus’s life.
He orderedthe wisemen to go find the Christ ChIld and to report back to him so thathe could go himself and worship Him too. After finding the Baby Jesus andworshipping Him, the wisemen were warned by God in a dream that they shouldnot return to Herold and so they departed to their homes. The book ofMatthew goes on to describe the flight into Egypt, when Mary and Josephtook Jesus to escape from King Herold. They had been warned about KingHerold by angels sent in a dream. Mary, Joseph and their Baby stayed inEgypt until King Herold was dead.
Again, angels came to Joseph in a dreamand told him that it was now safe to return to Isreal. It is beleived that Jesus spent his early childhood in Nazareth, inthe region of Galilee. The Gospels do not mention a lot about Jesus’childhood, and they mention nothing concerning Jesus from the time he was12 years old until the time he began his ministry when he was about 18years old. Matthew, Mark and Luke, the first three Gospels of the NewTestament record the ministry of Jesus. Jesus did many things when hephysically lived on earth.
As Jesus began his ministry, his affect uponpeople’s lives were total and absolute. All through His ministry He spokewith authority and made demands on people’s consciousness. Jesus denouncedgreed, bigotry, hypocrisy,immorality, dishonesty and lawlessness. Eventhough he stood for what was right, Jesus invited the tired people, the badand the good people, bewildered people, laborers, professionals of the day,cheats, bigots, and revolutionaries to come to Him for redemption. Hewent about all of Gallilee teaching the people and preaching the gospel ofthe Kingdom and healing all kinds of sickness and diseases.
He became wellknown because people talked about the miracles he performed. And Jesusperformed awesome miracles. Not only did He heal the sick and the blindand the deaf, but He also raised the dead when he brought Lazarus back tolife after he died. Because He did these miracles with love andcompassion, people were drawn to Jesus and His following grew. Jesus spentHis entire life meeting human needs. The most important thing he did whileon earth was that He died on the cross so “that whosoever believeth in meshall not perish but have everlasting life”.
( John 3:16 )Jesus is the center of the Christian faith and the Son of God. Justas people worshipped him 2000 years, people of today continue to worshipHim in churches everywhere. Our school calendar follows the Christian HolyDays as we celebrate the birth of Christ at Christmas and His death andressurrection at Easter .
